Question 1

Which stage of the appraisal process occurs in an interview between supervisor and employee?
A) The stage at which a supervisor reinforces performance or provides remedies
B) The stage at which a supervisor establishes and communicates standards for measuring performance
C) The stage at which a supervisor establishes and communicates expectations for performance
D) The stage at which a supervisor observes and measures individual performance against standards

Accepted Answer

The last stage of the appraisal process-the stage at which a supervisor reinforces performance or provides remedies-occurs in an interview between supervisor and employee. At this time, a supervisor describes what he or she has observed and discusses this appraisal with the employee. Together they agree on areas for improvement and development.

Question 2

Which of the following supervisors best demonstrates halo effect?
A) A supervisor who gives poor ratings to good performers
B) A supervisor who places the most weight on events that have occurred lately
C) A supervisor who generalizes one positive aspect of an employee to the employee's entire performance
D) A supervisor who forms preconceived judgments about an employee based on the employee's membership in a group

Accepted Answer

A supervisor who generalizes one positive aspect of an employee to the employee's entire performance best demonstrates halo effect. The halo effect refers to the tendency to generalize one positive or negative aspect of a person to the person's entire performance.

Question 3

_____ refers to the human tendency to place the most weight on events that have occurred lately.
A) Recency syndrome
B) Proximity bias
C) Halo effect
D) Central tendency

Accepted Answer

Recency syndrome refers to the human tendency to place the most weight on events that have occurred lately. In a performance appraisal, a supervisor might give particular weight to a problem an employee caused last week or an award an employee just won, but he or she should be careful to consider events and behaviors that occurred throughout the entire period covered by the review.

Question 4

The tendency to assign similar scores to items that are near each other on a questionnaire is called:
A) harshness bias.
B) similarity bias.
C) proximity bias.
D) central tendency.

Accepted Answer

The tendency to assign similar scores to items that are near each other on a questionnaire is called proximity bias. This tendency can result in misleading appraisals.

Question 5

The tendency to select employee ratings in the middle of a rating scale is called:
A) leniency bias.
B) rating tendency.
C) central tendency.
D) similarity bias.

Accepted Answer

The tendency to select employee ratings in the middle of a rating scale is called central tendency. This bias causes a supervisor to miss important opportunities to praise or correct employees.

Question 6

Which of the following is true of central tendency as a source of bias in performance appraisals?
A) People are comfortable taking a strong stand at either extreme than on the middle of a scale.
B) This bias causes a supervisor to miss important opportunities to praise or correct employees.
C) It is the tendency to assign similar scores to items that are near each other on a questionnaire.
D) Supervisors with this bias rate their employees more favorably than their performance merits.

Accepted Answer

Central tendency causes a supervisor to miss important opportunities to praise or correct employees. People seem more comfortable on middle ground than taking a strong stand at either extreme.

Question 7

When uncertain how to answer or when the overall scoring on a test looks undesirable,a supervisor is most likely to make _____.
A) gross errors
B) guesstimates
C) random choices
D) fair judgments

Accepted Answer

When uncertain how to answer or when the overall scoring on the test looks undesirable, a supervisor is most likely to make random choices. When using a type of appraisal that requires answers to specific questions, a supervisor might succumb to making random choices.

Question 8

When using a type of appraisal that requires answers to specific questions,a supervisor might succumb to making _____.
A) gross errors
B) guesstimates
C) random choices
D) biased judgments

Accepted Answer

When using a type of appraisal that requires answers to specific questions, a supervisor might succumb to making random choices. A supervisor might do this when uncertain how to answer or when the overall scoring on a test looks undesirable.

Question 9

Which of the following supervisors best demonstrates recency syndrome?
A) A supervisor who gives poor ratings to good performers
B) A supervisor who focuses more on events that have occurred lately while reviewing performance
C) A supervisor who generalizes one positive aspect of an employee to the employee's entire performance
D) A supervisor who forms preconceived judgments about an employee based on the employee's membership in a group

Accepted Answer

A supervisor who focuses more on events that have occurred lately best demonstrates recency syndrome. In a performance appraisal, a supervisor might give particular weight to a problem an employee caused last week or an award an employee just won, but he or she should be careful to consider events and behaviors that occurred throughout the entire period covered by the review. The most accurate way to do this is to keep records throughout the year with conducting a critical-incident appraisal.

Question 10

While conducting performance appraisals,Mike gives more weight to factors such as a problem an employee caused last week or to an award an employee just won.This tendency is specifically referred to as the:
A) recency syndrome.
B) similarity bias.
C) proximity bias.
D) halo effect.

Accepted Answer

In the scenario, Mike's tendency is specifically referred to as recency syndrome. The recency syndrome refers to the human tendency to place the most weight on events that have occurred most recently.

Question 11

Which of the following supervisors best demonstrates prejudice?
A) A supervisor who gives poor ratings to good performers
B) A supervisor who places the most weight on events that have occurred lately
C) A supervisor who generalizes one positive aspect of an employee to the employee's entire performance
D) A supervisor who forms preconceived judgments about an employee based on the employee's membership in a group

Accepted Answer

A supervisor who forms preconceived judgments about an employee based on the employee's membership in a group best demonstrates prejudice. A supervisor's prejudices about various types of people can unfairly influence a performance appraisal.

Question 12

Jake shares his supervisor's views on political issues and also his interest in golf.It is observed that Jake is given an excellent appraisal report even though he deserved only an average.This form of bias is referred to as:
A) halo effect.
B) similarity bias.
C) central tendency.
D) harshness bias.

Accepted Answer

The form of bias explained in the scenario is similarity bias. The similarity bias refers to the tendency to judge others more positively when they are like ourselves.

Question 13

Which of the following appraisal methods would be most effective in checking the recency syndrome?
A) Critical-incident appraisal
B) Peer review
C) Essay appraisal
D) Graphic rating scale method

Accepted Answer

Critical-incident appraisal methods would be most effective in checking the recency syndrome. The recency syndrome refers to the human tendency to place the most weight on events that have occurred most recently.

Question 14

In the context of conducting an appraisal interview,a supervisor should:
A) fill the appraisal form just one hour before the interview to prevent his prejudices from clouding his judgment.
B) notify the employees about the appraisal interview ahead of time so that they get the time to think about their performance.
C) arrange the interview in an area that is easily accessible to the other employees to increase the transparency of the system.
D) discourage the employees from offering any form of feedback as this would only lead to an argument.

Accepted Answer

In the context of conducting an appraisal interview, a supervisor should notify the employees about the appraisal interview ahead of time so that they get the time to think about their performance. Then the employee can contribute ideas during the interview.

Question 15

Which of the following supervisors best demonstrates harshness bias?
A) A supervisor who gives poor ratings to good performers
B) A supervisor who focuses more on events that have occurred lately
C) A supervisor who generalizes one positive aspect of an employee to the employee's entire performance
D) A supervisor who forms preconceived judgments about an employee based on the employee's membership in a group

Accepted Answer

A supervisor who gives poor ratings to good performers best demonstrates harshness bias. Some supervisors are prone to a harshness bias, that is, rating employees more severely than their performance merits.

Question 16

The primary purpose of holding an appraisal interview should be to:
A) allow employees to demand salary increases.
B) communicate information about an employee's performance.
C) form informal groups so as to improve employee performance.
D) sort out the problem of nepotism.

Accepted Answer

The primary purpose of holding an appraisal interview should be to communicate information about an employee's performance. Once a supervisor has evaluated an employee's performance, the supervisor needs to convey his or her thoughts to the employee.

Question 17

_____ refers to the tendency to generalize one positive or negative aspect of a person to the person's entire performance.
A) Recency syndrome
B) Similarity bias
C) Central tendency
D) Halo effect

Accepted Answer

Halo effect refers to the tendency to generalize one positive or negative aspect of a person to the person's entire performance. Thus, if a supervisor thinks that a pleasant telephone manner is what makes a good customer service representative, he is apt to give high marks to a representative with a pleasant voice, no matter what the employee actually says to the customers or how reliable the performance.

Question 18

_____ bias refers to the tendency to judge others more positively when they are like ourselves.
A) Proximity
B) Similarity
C) Recency
D) Leniency

Accepted Answer

Similarity bias refers to the tendency to judge others more positively when they are like ourselves. Thus, supervisors tend to look more favorably on people who share their interests, tastes, background, or other characteristics.

Question 19

The most effective way to overcome the bias resulting from the recency syndrome is to:
A) focus on the recent information.
B) keep records throughout the year.
C) use the employee's co-workers to do the rating.
D) use the essay appraisal method.

Accepted Answer

The most effective way to overcome the bias resulting from the recency syndrome is to keep records throughout the year. The recency syndrome refers to the human tendency to place the most weight on events that have occurred most recently.

Question 20

Sarah believes that all graduates from a certain university have poor engineering skills and uses this belief as a base to appraise the performance of all employees from that university.In this case,Sarah's _____ is affecting the appraisal process.
A) central tendency
B) narcissism
C) ethical belief
D) prejudice

Accepted Answer

In the scenario, Sarah's prejudice is affecting the appraisal process. A supervisor's prejudices about various types of people can unfairly influence a performance appraisal.

Quiz 17: Appraising Performance

Which stage of the appraisal process occurs in an interview between supervisor and employee?

Which of the following supervisors best demonstrates halo effect?

_____ refers to the human tendency to place the most weight on events that have occurred lately.

The tendency to assign similar scores to items that are near each other on a questionnaire is called:

The tendency to select employee ratings in the middle of a rating scale is called:

Which of the following is true of central tendency as a source of bias in performance appraisals?

When uncertain how to answer or when the overall scoring on a test looks undesirable,a supervisor is most likely to make _____.

When using a type of appraisal that requires answers to specific questions,a supervisor might succumb to making _____.

Which of the following supervisors best demonstrates recency syndrome?

While conducting performance appraisals,Mike gives more weight to factors such as a problem an employee caused last week or to an award an employee just won.This tendency is specifically referred to as the:

Which of the following supervisors best demonstrates prejudice?

Jake shares his supervisor's views on political issues and also his interest in golf.It is observed that Jake is given an excellent appraisal report even though he deserved only an average.This form of bias is referred to as:

Which of the following appraisal methods would be most effective in checking the recency syndrome?

In the context of conducting an appraisal interview,a supervisor should:

Which of the following supervisors best demonstrates harshness bias?

The primary purpose of holding an appraisal interview should be to:

_____ refers to the tendency to generalize one positive or negative aspect of a person to the person's entire performance.

_____ bias refers to the tendency to judge others more positively when they are like ourselves.

The most effective way to overcome the bias resulting from the recency syndrome is to:

Sarah believes that all graduates from a certain university have poor engineering skills and uses this belief as a base to appraise the performance of all employees from that university.In this case,Sarah's _____ is affecting the appraisal process.